PriyaMeansLove

No, never -- this is very important to me. My passion, which became my business, stems from my reverence for natural, minimally processed beautiful materials, and from my own profound chemical sensitivities -- so you can be sure that my none of my products will ever contain these sorts of materials. My products are truly, radically all natural.

That's a tough question to answer in a short space. But, in essence: there's no standard definition for what "all natural" means in the bodycare and cosmetic world.* Different people have different definitions, and I often see products labeled "all natural" that contain dubious ingredients.

What I mean by radically all natural is that every single ingredient I use would fit anyone's notion of what it is to be natural. My products are made from simple, elemental, minimally processed ingredients like herbs, clays, essential oils, oils, and beeswax. Good, clean food, basically!

*In fact "all natural" isn't a regulated term, and any company can call their products natural, even if they contain synthetic fragrances, preservatives, etc.!

Quite a while! Typically 1-3 years. I formulate my products to be enjoyed over time, and each product is labeled with its batch number and with an "enjoy by" date. The shelf life depends on the particular oils in the product -- just as you wouldn't cook with olive oil that's a few years old, so also will the natural oils in bodycare go rancid over time. If you get to the end of the stated shelf life and your product still feels and smell fresh (no gumminess to a balm, no whiff of old oil), feel free to keep using it! I am pretty conservative when stating shelf life, so products typically last months longer than indicated.

Away from sunlight and at consistent room temperature is ideal -- your medicine cabinet or a shady dresser top is perfect. No need to store in the fridge. Think of it like how you'd store dried herbs -- sunlight steals the mojo of these products, and heat can dull the aromatics over time. And repeated fluctuations from very warm to very cold can change the texture of body butters and creams,

A few places to *avoid* storing your goodies: in a car (big temperature swings!), on top of a radiator, on a sunny windowsill.

Because my products are made from natural oils, butters, and waxes, they may become softer in very hot weather or harder in cold weather. These texture variations are normal and won't affect the performance of the product.

My products are rich in botanicals, which speak to our bodies in complex, profound ways. But with plants, allergies are always a possibility. Please read ingredients lists, know your own allergies, and ask questions; when in doubt consult your doctor and/or do a patch test. All the descriptions of my products and ingredients are for educational purposes only.

My products are cruelty free and always will be. I am personally against animal testing, and I will never test my products on animals. To be cruelty-free, a company's ingredients must not be tested on animals either. Part of the reason I use simple, natural ingredients with a long history of human use is that they sidestep the supposed "need" for animal testing, because they're already known to be safe.

My products are all vegetarian (like me!), and many are naturally vegan. The only non-vegan ingredients I use are beeswax from local farmers who use good bee-friendly practices, natural lanolin (extracted from sheared sheep's wool), and powdered milk. Many of my products can be made vegan on request -- feel free to convo me!

I try to avoid bringing more packaging into this world! Most of my glass packaging can be returned to me for a refund of $1 per piece. Unfortunately I'm unable to cover shipping expenses, so I recommend saving up a handful of containers before mailing your glass packaging back to me. Convo me for my shipping address; when I receive your packaging, I'll issue you a refund on a previous order or via PayPal.

I often vend at markets in the Baltimore/DC/Philadelphia area -- if you live in the area, you're welcome to return packaging to me in person!

Quite possibly! Feel free to email me to ask -- you never know!

You can find me at MARKETS in the Baltimore/DC/Philadelphia area -- find my market schedule here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/priyameanslove#local

STOCKISTS -- each carries a different selection of my products, so call ahead if you're looking for a specific product! Here's a partial list:
BALTIMORE area: Hunting Ground, Artifact Coffee, Vita, Rooster & Hen Store, Trohv
DC area: Botanologica, Stitch & Rivet
PHILADELPHIA: Moon + Arrow
NYC: Remedies Herb Shop
Long Island: Codfish Cowboy

WHOLESALE INQUIRIES: Have a beautiful shop where my organic products would fit in? Please contact me at priyameanslove at gmail, or find me on Etsy Wholesale!

All of my products are handmade from scratch by me! I formulate and handmake everything in my Baltimore workshop, using only radically all natural, minimally processed ingredients, most of which are organic or wildharvested. I aim to make my products as from-scratch as possible, starting with herbs, some of which I grow, wildharvest, or source from a nearby farm. My workshop is always brimming with herbs infusing in oils and tinctures brewing, raw materials that will end up in my Deep Radiance Face Cream, Balsam Fir Deodorant, Lavender Mud shampoo -- you name it!